vic fortezza

The nature of evil has been much debated. Is it innate or acquired? I don't think it really matters, although I believe a tiny percentage of the human race has a genetic disposition to it. Whatever the case, the evil must be stopped. In today's NY Post, Andrea Peyser's column focuses on the life of ease some murderers have behind bars. The article cited one miscreant in particular, Danny Robbie Hembree Jr., 50, who is on death row in North Carolina for the murder of a 17-year-old girl. He has admitted to killing two others. He recently wrote a letter to a local paper. Here are some excerpts: "Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps at will, eating three well-balanced meals a day?" "I am a man who is ready to except [sic] his unjust punishment and face God Almighty with a clear conscience unlike you cowards and your cowardly system." "Is the public aware that the chances of my lawful murder taking place in the next 20 years if ever are very slim?" "Kill me if you can, suckers. Ha! Ha! Ha!" "I laugh at you self righteous clowns and I spit in the face of your so called justice system. The state of North Carolina has sentenced me to death but it's not real." It's enough to make me rethink my opposition to the death penalty. I've always believed murderers should have the option of drinking...

RIP Nora Ephron, 71, a prolific writer who also had great success as a film director. She was eulogized in an op-ed piece by Jonathan Podhoretz in today's NY Post. Ephron wrote several screenplays, including Silkwood (1983) and When Harry Met Sally (1989), which featured the memorable fake orgasm scene so wonderfully rendered by Meg Ryan, and the great follow up line spoken by director Rob Reiner's mom, Estelle: "I'll have what she's having." She also wrote the best-selling comic novel Heartburn, which was based on her marriage to her second husband, philandering Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein. She wrote and directed the smash hit Sleepless in Seattle (1993), the most successful film ever by a woman at the time. She also issued several collections of essays. In her mid 40's she found marital happiness with her third husband, Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote Wise Guy, the book on which the film Goodfellas (1990) is based. She contributed a six-word biography to Larry Smith's collection: Not Quite What I Was Planning - "Secret to Life, Marry an Italian." Well done, madam. Last night I watched another of the music tapes I made in '90's. It had its usual eclectic variety: pop, rock, swing, jazz, classical. Of the 30 or so performances, I enjoyed all but one: Smashing Pumpkins doing Bullet with Butterfly Wings on SNL. It seemed artless. White Zombie made two appearances, both from Letterman. They were so much fun. Springsteen did a riveting solo acoustic version of Angel Eyes at a...

Sara Paretsky has written 17 novels. 15 feature intrepid female private eye V.I. Warshawski. I just finished the fifth in the series, Blood Shot (1988). I enjoyed it. The mystery was engaging from the start and the characters were well drawn, particularly the protagonist. While not as hard-boiled and cynical as Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade or Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, V.I. is close. She is well-educated, an opera buff. I enjoyed the literary references sprinkled throughout the narrative. The writing was not as polished as I prefer, but that may have been intentional, as the story is a first person account in the words of someone who is not a writer. It may also have been due to my own carelessness. I read much faster than I should. Paretsky's work has been translated into 30 languages. On a scale of five, three-and-a-half. The character was brought to the silver screen in 1991 with Kathleen Turner in the title role, seemingly a great choice, but the film was not popular with critics or the public. I will add it to my Netflix list at the recommendation of an online reviewer who believes it is under-rated. Tami Hoag's A Thin Dark Line remains the best of the mysteries I've sampled. Daniel Silva and Joy Fielding impressed me the most in terms of polish. I left the house for my morning walk at 6:15, in shorts and a T-shirt. I was shocked at how cool it was. When it came time for the floating...

It's time for the network news broadcasts to go into panic mode - a heat wave is on the way. Expect updates and tips every few minutes. It's hot in the summer - who knew? I get a lot of political emails from friends. While I enjoy them, I don't pass most on. I made an exception with the following. If there is a good counter argument to this, I'm not aware of it. I'm not against illegal immigration, but I am against illegals getting government services: The owner of the Phoenix Suns Basketball team, Robert Sarver, came out strongly opposing Arizona's new immigration laws. Governor Jan Brewer released the following statement in response to Sarver's criticism: "What if the owners of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into games without paying? What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs, thus non-paying attendees couldn't be ejected. Furthermore, what if Suns' ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drink? And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?" Touche. The email then listed many instances in which Americans had to produce photo ID. The only thing missing was a response from Sarver. That would have been interesting. Then again, such data is issued to win hearts and minds...

I slummed on the golf course today. I would have had a good time if not for faulty chipping. I was so inept I needed at least eight extra chips during the round. It was a long day. There was an outing at our usual haunt, Forest Park, so we headed over to Kissena, which is in beautiful condition, especially its greens. It's a short course, par 64, but charming. A lot of the holes have bizarre lay-outs. Second shots are almost always a short iron. We waited at least an hour to play and were paired with a nice Asian couple, Willie and Shirley. Of course, goofballs that Cuz and I are we couldn't help but whisper Leslie Nielsen's immortal line from Airplane: "And don't call me Shirley." She was a good player, hitting it short and sweet a lot of the time, starting out at the same tee as her hubby. Willie had a stellar front nine, making a number of pars. He would have had a shot at breaking 80 but left after nine holes. Shirley stayed. Cuz had his first good round of the year, shooting 83, keeping mistakes to a minimum and sinking several stroke-saving mid-range putts. I shot 88. I've always contended that 80 is the target at Kissena, 85 at Forest. Only a few years ago I would have been totally depressed by such a poor performance. I recorded my stats religiously at playerlink.com. I now try to keep it fun. So far I...